March data revealed a slowdown in growth across the UK construction sector, led by a weaker rise in residential building activity. The latest survey also pointed to only a marginal increase in new work, which contributed to slower employment growth and a slight decline in input buying.

The seasonally adjusted Markit/CIPS UK Construction Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) dropped from 52.5 in February to 52.2 in March, to signal the joint-slowest upturn in overall construction output since the current period of expansion began in September 2016. Softer growth primarily reflected a loss of momentum in housing activity, which offset a rebound in both commercial and civil engineering activity. The latest increase in work on civil engineering projects was the fastest so far in 2017 and the strongest of the three subcategories monitored by the survey in March.